THE PLACE

I first met Marina in person a few weeks ago at Due South, but I “met” her on Instagram even before then. Marina is such a sweet, kind person, and the care with which she makes her hand-waxed canvas bike bags and accessories is evident. I fell in love with her bags and the faint, sweet smell of honey that comes along with them immediately, and we immediately made plans for me to visit her in her Tallahassee workshop. Housed in her parents’ basement on the north edge of Tallahassee, Marina, joined by her family dog, Max, her cat, Today, and her part-time employee Adriana, crank out an impressive supply of Anhaica bags.

Though filled to the brim with canvas, nylon webbing, thread, sewing machines, flowers, bags, and more, Anhaica doesn’t feel the least bit crowded. It’s full of odds and ends and beautiful things. It feels collected, not cluttered.

THE PERSON

Marina started out selling her bags by opening a small sewing shop called Community Fabric out of a warehouse in Railroad Square a few years ago. Fresh out of college, she sold needles and thread, taught sewing classes, and made all manner of bags. Her bike bags really started to take off, so she shuttered her little shop and began sewing bike bags full time.

THE PROCESS

Marina and Adriana, first cut bag patterns from cotton canvas and wax them. Marina purchases her canvas locally, and she sources her beeswax locally, too – from my parents’ neighbor in Bristol, who also owns The Bee House where I get my beekeeping supplies. It’s a small, small world.
Marina recycles as much as possible for her shipping materials, and she frequents The Sharing Tree on Railroad Square for both supplies and inspiration.

The beeswax is melted in a pot and brushed on the canvas with a paintbrush. Then a hot iron is run over the wax, melting it deep into the fabric. The beeswax makes the canvas water-resistant while smelling sweetly of the honey bees who made it.

Once the pattern pieces are waxed, Adriana “re-squares them,” as sometimes the waxing process causes them to be a bit misshapen. Then, Marina begins sewing.

Marina waxes first, then sews her bags together. She double stitches everything and takes care to test all her prototypes rigorously before offering them in the shop. She is meticulous and painstaking and it shows in her work. And sometimes it makes her a little crazy – especially when it comes to a certain bag.

She tells me that her most popular bag is actually her tool roll, and I can see why and at least eight different reasons I need one, too. I can also see why stitching those small pieces of velcro over and over and over might make one a bit crazy. It makes me appreciate her work (and the tool roll) that much more.

The final step on every bag is to stitch on a hand-printed Anhaica tag.

THE LIFESTYLE

Making bike bags isn’t just a livelihood for Marina – it’s a lifestyle. She doesn’t own a car, and she commutes across Tallahassee daily to her workshop on her bike. Her bags stand the test of time because theyhave to.

Marina is passionate that biking could change the world if we’d just let it, and her enthusiasm is contagious.

I rode my bike almost exclusively when I was in college in Gainesville, and it was so liberating (not to mention, figure friendly). I obviously can’t bike from Bainbridge to Thomasville for work, but listening to Marina preach the virtues of bicycle culture made me want to try. Her line of bags would sure make it an easier – or least, better looking – commute. Maybe one day I’ll be able to ride my bike to work again. I look forward to the day I need one of her backpacks.

And she doesn’t limit herself to bike bags (even though they are her thing). She is having a limited run on some amazing bucket tote bags at the moment, and she makes the occasional tote, purse, clutch, and wallet. The flap cross-body purses pictured below aren’t online, but actually may still be available – email Marina ASAP if you want one!

THE SHOP

Even if you don’t ride a bike to work every day, you can appreciate the high quality of Anhaica Bag Works. The waxed canvas ages beautifully – I can fully vouch for that, as that last tote bag came home with me. They are just as stylish as they are hard-working, and they will see you through bike rides and road trips and everything in between for years to come.

Just sharing a random mish-mash of what’s been going on lately. No theme in particular!

This past weekend, my parents came to town. My dad helped Wheat put in an outdoor sink behind our shed, and my mom and I piddled and dumpster dove (in my in-laws’ front yard, no less!). I ended up with a beautiful cut glass pitcher, a vintage sterling plate bread knife, and an antique Coca-Cola sign with a puppy and a Santa on it (two of my favorite things!) from Antique Annex. I didn’t get pics of these though. :( Just trust that they are all pretty amazing, and I was really pleased with my loot! I’ve been watching the Coca-Cola sign for a while now, and since it was on sale, I pulled the trigger. I plan to frame it and bring it out at Christmas time!

Upon my Mama’s recommendation, we also went for my first trip to a new junk store in town, “Plenty of Stuff” (on West Street in the old Henderson’s Grocery, for you locals). Mama bought Thumper there for us me a while back to adorn our raised beds (thank you, Mama!), so we went back to see what else they had. I scored big!

I was SO excited to see this bike sitting out front. I have a bike that I rode as my primary mode of transportation in college in Gainesville (Florida), and I even rode it some in Tallahassee during law school (but that was way too scary). It’s a sweet Free Spirit bike, which is an old brand they used to sell at Sear’s, but it has lots of gears, pretty skinny tires for a cruiser, and goes fast! It was perfect for riding to class and stuff, but I have wanted a real beach cruiser to ride to our neighborhood pool for the past year. GOT IT! It still needs some work, but so far we have added some white wall cruiser tires and are working on replacing the chain. I’ll update you after I take it for its maiden voyage to the pool!

I mentioned dumpster diving at my in-laws’ house. Bainbridge is having a “we pick up anything” day, so my father-in-law, Bruce, cleaned out their shed over the weekend. He jokingly texted me a picture to see if I wanted to come pick through their refuse… but I happily came right over and began digging! We came home with a kiddie pool (for Harold…. and maybe me), some plant “grow boxes” for starting seeds, some plant stands, some topiary stands (that I may use for tomato cages), some pots, a big hammered brass bucket that had a hole in the side, not one but TWO Ataris, and various other odds and ends. I’m not ashamed. Thanks for the goods, Bruce and Nancy!

Haven’t hooked either Atari up to see if it still works… but I’m crossing my fingers!

We’re starting some more basil and parsley in these – I think it’s more parsley. I can’t remember – Wheat planted them. Guess I’ll find out when they come up!

I turned the hole-y bucket into an herb planter with some help from the herb sale at Home Depot. Pineapple sage (back), lemon thyme (front left) and lavender (front right). So pretty!

We also planted some oak leaf hydrangea my MIL Nancy gave us, as well as some loquat trees she gave us! No pics of the hydrangea yet – just watering them well and hoping they take the transplant okay. The loquat trees are doing really well though! Loquats always remind me of my friend Thad Owens, who passed away four years ago today. He would climb off the balcony at the Swamp restaurant and pick loquats for our table to eat while we waited for our food. That is how I tasted my first loquat fruit. I won’t eat another one without thinking about him! Thinking about him today, especially.

Finally, I may have developed a new obsession with trying to capture pictures of our beloved hummingbirds. I may have mentioned that Wheat and I just love them, and I grew up loving them because my parents love them, and we have TONS around our house last year and this year! We make sure to keep them well fed, and I showed you our hummingbird garden last week (nothing blooming yet, though). Both of our feeders are right in front of our kitchen windows, and I could sit and watch them all day long. Here’s a male and a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird, courtesy of my very amateur photography. By the way, if you’re interested, here are some tips from the Audubon Society on feeding hummers. It’s a 4 parts water to one part sugar ratio, and everything I’ve ever read recommends NOT using the pre-made stuff at the store, and avoiding red food coloring. Just in case you want to feed them too!

That pretty much catches you up on life in my neck of the woods. I’m spending this week preparing for a trip to Miami this weekend for a sorority sister’s wedding (cannot wait!!) so hopefully that explains the random posts. Anyway, I’m off to daydream about laying out in the hot Miami sun, catching up with girlfriends, and drinking margaritas!